Denver Medical Examiner Relocates to New, Larger Facility

Today Denver Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Mayor Brendan Hanlon, District 7 City Councilmember Jolon Clark, Department of Public Health & Environment Executive Director Bob McDonald, and Chief Medical Examiner James Caruso M.D., hosted the grand opening and ribbon cutting of the new Denver Office of the Medical Examiner located at 500 Quivas St.

The new facility, a renovated warehouse, spans 29,000 square feet and features many new technologies that ensure the City & County of Denver will continue to deliver high-quality medical examination and investigation services well into the future.

New features of the facility include enhanced technologies and security measures:

Temperature control and automated alarms and warning systems for freezers and coolers

Air lock and air flow systems for odor control and health safety

Increased security and storage capabilities for evidence and sensitive tissues and materials

An improved isolation autopsy suite for use in the case of severe decomposition or the presence of communicable disease

Devices to support bariatric autopsies, including a bariatric lift and bariatric autopsy tables

“I’m very proud of the skill and integrity of our forensic pathology and death investigation staff, and we now have a facility to match their caliber of excellence and expertise,” said Chief Medical Examiner for the City & County of Denver, Jim Caruso, M.D. “Our previous location was less than half the size of this new facility and did not offer the same technological amenities. This investment will ensure we are able to continue providing accurate information to support Denver Police Department investigations, offer clear and accurate information to grieving families and loved ones, and train future forensic pathologists and death investigators using state of the art technology.”

“This new facility is the result of multiple city agencies and partners working together to ensure success,” added DDPHE Executive Director Bob McDonald. “Denver Health as well as Denver’s Departments of Finance, Public Works, Technology Services, Real Estate and more were critical to bringing this modern, high-quality facility to fruition.”

Annually OME performs over 1,100 postmortem examinations and fields approximately 5,000 death reports. The new facility cost $14 million to renovate, with approximately 500 lights, 65,550 feet (12.41 miles) of conduit and 304,140 feet (57.6 miles) of wire installed.